Return-Path: Received: from SEGATE.SUNET.SE by xiron.pc.helsinki.fi with smtp (Linux Smail3.1.28.1 #1) id m0tE0wj-0000ZTC; Fri, 10 Nov 95 23:25 EET Message-Id: Received: from listmail.sunet.se by SEGATE.SUNET.SE (LSMTP for OpenVMS v1.0a) with SMTP id DD9A5EEB ; Fri, 10 Nov 1995 22:25:12 +0100 Date: Wed, 8 Nov 1995 11:25:28 -0800 Reply-To: "Peter L. Schuerman" Sender: Lojban list From: "Peter L. Schuerman" Subject: Re: pointing X-To: Lojban List To: Veijo Vilva In-Reply-To: <199511081743.JAA03700@guilder.ucdavis.edu> Content-Length: 1341 Lines: 35 Shouldn't there be a simple way of saying "I point to something"? I mean, Lojban *is* intended to be spoken by humans, right? And humans have been known to point at things... :) It would be like having no word for sneeze, and having to construct it as: "I reflexively/explosively mucus-discharge from my nose." Yuck (in more than once sense of the word). I guess that my idea of language aesthetics is such that common concepts should be collected into simple symbols, for the convenience of the speakers. Of course, which concepts are "common" is largely a matter of culture... and it is difficult to define "common" concepts in a language that eschews culture by proclaiming neutrality. What criteria might a culturally-neutral language have for determining whether a concept is "basic" or "common"? Any thoughts on this? Peter Schuerman plschuerman@ucdavis.edu Co-editor, SPECTRA Online for back issues: http://www.well.com/user/phandaal/ On Wed, 8 Nov 1995, Logical Language Group wrote: > >> How about "I am befingered by a direction-sign of the blue chair"? > >> > >> mi farsniseldegji le blanu stizu > > > >My direction-sign-finger is the blue-thing-type-of chair??? No, it > >isn't! :) > > How about > la'e lemi degji cu farna le blanu stizu